Mike Esposito #35

Michael Anthony Esposito...is a graduate of Cimarron Memorial High School in Las Vegas where he was the Nevada State Player of the Year as a senior in 1999...was drafted in the 5th round by the Reds that June but chose to enroll at ASU...in the summer of 2001, he participated with other freshman and sophomores on the USA National team...was named a second-team Summer All-American by Baseball America...signed by Mike Ericson...resides in Higley, Arizona...Mike's father, Joe, sings with musical act Cat Daddy in Las Vegas and has a song on the Karate Kid Soundtrack, "You're the Best"...Joe's work has been nominated for 3 Grammy's over a career in the music industry dating to the late 1970's.

2005

After spending the year with Colorado Springs, Mike made his major league debut with 3 starts for the Rockies beginning in late September...was one of 6 rookie pitchers for Colorado, but one of just 2 starters (also Jeff Francis)...went 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA (14.2 ip, 11 er) in the 3 starts...allowed 3 walks in each outing...averaged just 3.16 pitches per batter faced in the majors...major league right-handed batters hit just .192 (5-for-26)...Mike joined the big league club on Sept. 6 and continued workouts following conclusion of the Triple-A campaign, but was not activated...became an option for the rotation after Zach Day sustained a fractured right thumb during his start on Sept. 17 at Arizona...Mike's contract was purchased on Sept. 21 for his major league debut that night against San Diego at Coors Field...took loss in Rockies' 5-2 defeat (5.0 ip, 7 h, 3 r-er)...was his first appearance in a game since Sept. 2 vs. Fresno at Triple-A, a span of 18 days without game action...first road start of his career came in next outing on Sept. 26 at Atlanta...took a no decision, allowing 5 runs in 4.0 innings against eventual NL East champs...permitted homers to Adam LaRoche and Jeff Francoeur...took defeat in final start on Oct. 1 at New York-NL despite allowing just 3 runs in 5.1 innings...posted career highs for innings and strikeouts in final start (5.1 ip, 4 so)...recorded first ML hit in that game, a 5th inning single off Mets starter Jae Seo...he averaged just 1.84 runs of support per 9 innings...spent the entire season with Triple-A Colorado Springs, going 8-9, 5.49 in 27 games/starts...led staff in starts, strikeouts (94), and innings (155.2), ranking 2nd in wins...averaged 5.43 strikeouts per 9 innings...pitched at least 5.0 innings in 22 of 27 starts, going 7.0 or more frames on 8 occasions...tossed season-high 8.1 frames on Aug. 7 vs. Nashville...posted 9 quality starts...recorded season-high 7 strikeouts twice...opposing batters hit .308 (197-for-640)...went 2-1, 4.73 (32.1 ip, 17 er) over 5 starts in May...recorded 21 K's against just 3 walks in that month...won 3 straight starts from April 30-May 10...dropped each of his final 4 decisions at Triple-A.

2003

Made his pro debut at Visalia, where he ranked second in the Cal League in innings pitched (161.0), tied for second in games started (27), tied for fourth in wins (12) and was 10th in ERA (3.75)...was named to the league's mid-season all-star team...gave up 83 runs but 16 of those were unearned...posted a sub-4.00 ERA in every month but June...finished the year 10-4 over his final 14 decisions beginning May 11th...hurled his lone complete game on July 31 at Rancho Cucamonga, allowing just 1 unearned run over 9.0 innings in a 13-1 victory...that effort garnered him Cal League "Pitcher of the Week" honors for July 28-Aug. 3... made one postseason start for the Oaks, tossing 6.0 shutout innings in a 6-0 victory over Stockton in Game 2 of the semifinals on Sept. 7.

2004

Esposito spent the entire year in Double A Tulsa's starting rotation, going 10-6 with a 3.33 ERA and one complete game in 24 starts...his 3.33 ERA ranked fifth among Texas League qualifiers...finished second in the league in fewest baserunners per nine innings (11.1), allowing only 138 hits and 35 walks with 90 strikeouts in 143.1 innings...the only Texas Leaguer to allow fewer men on base was Jeff Francis (7.9)...pitched well in traffic, holding opponents to a .215 average with runners on base (47-for-219) and .214 with runners in scoring position (27-for-126)...opened the year with a 1-0 complete-game loss on April 12 vs. Frisco, yielding just 3 hits and 1 run with 7 strikeouts over 7.0 innings...dropped his second start despite another solid outing, as he allowed 5 hits and 2 runs in 7.0 innings of a 2-1 loss to Arkansas on April 17...after five consecutive no decisions, Mike finally earned his first victory on May 19 vs. Wichita...beginning with that effort, Esposito went 5-1 over six starts from May 19-June 19, including a 3-0 mark with a 1.29 ERA (21.0 ip, 3 er) in three starts from June 9-19...continued to pitch well into July but poor run support kept him out of the win column...was 1-3 over a five-start stretch from June 19-July 24, during which the Drillers scored just 5 runs total while Mike himself allowed only 10 runs in 31.0 innings (2.90 ERA)...missed two starts in mid-July due to a tender right elbow...Tulsa's best starter down the stretch, Mike was 5-0 over his final six outings and ended the year by winning each of his last four starts, 4-0 with a 1.61 ERA (28.0 ip, 5 er)...made one postseason start, a loss to Frisco on Sept. 8 (6.0 ip, 4 er).